Questions
The ones we are actually asked, answered the way we would answer them on the phone.
Funding
Do I pay anything if a regional center funds the lessons?
No. Not a copay, not a difference to make up, not a top-up. For a funded service you are not billed at all, and no part of our process will ever ask you for a card.
My child is with a regional center but instruction is not on the plan. Is that a no?
No, it is the normal starting point. A service that is not on the plan has to be added before it can be authorised, and that is a conversation with your service coordinator. We send you what to say and what the agency will ask us for.
How long does it take?
Weeks rather than days, and it depends on when the plan is next reviewed. Some agencies add a service between reviews; some wait. We will tell you which you are dealing with rather than letting you assume it is imminent.
Can I start now and switch to funding later?
Yes, and many families do. You keep the same instructor. Nothing restarts.
Instructors
Are instructors background checked?
Yes, and it is enforced rather than promised. An instructor whose clearance lapses is removed from search, from matching and from booking automatically, the same day — nobody has to spot it first.
Why do profiles only show a first name and an initial?
Because adults who teach children in private homes have a reasonable interest in not being fully identifiable to strangers. You get their experience, subjects, availability, reviews and area before booking, which is what actually helps you decide.
Can I ask for a particular instructor?
Yes. You can book someone specific from their profile, and if you have a preference we cannot show as a filter, tell a coordinator and they will take it into account when matching.
Lessons and prices
Where do lessons happen?
In your home or online, depending on the instructor and the subject. Both are listed on every profile.
Is the price different for funded families?
The price is the same. What an agency is billed is never more than what the general public pays for the same lesson — that is a legal requirement and this site publishes the public price with the date it took effect so it can be checked.
What happens if we miss a lesson?
You are told the cancellation terms before you book, and they are the same for everyone. A lesson that did not happen is recorded as not having happened; nothing is billed to an agency for a lesson nobody taught.
Records and privacy
What do you keep about my child?
Their first name, the subject, when lessons are, who teaches them, and a short note after each lesson about what was worked on. For funded families we also hold what the agency needs to pay us.
Do you keep the plan document or a diagnosis?
No. We do not hold clinical records of any kind — not a diagnosis, an assessment, a plan document, a medication or an eligibility category. The software refuses to store them, so it is not a matter of anyone remembering the policy.
Who can see the lesson notes?
You, the instructor who wrote them, and the staff who arrange and bill the lessons. If an agency funds the service, they see what they need to see to pay the invoice and nothing more.
Do you use cookies to track me?
Not across other websites, and never for advertising. If you reach us from a link that carries campaign tags — a newsletter, an ad — two things happen. We keep those tags on your own browser for 30 days, so that if you enquire later we know which one brought you; and we record the same tags on our own systems when you first arrive, so we can count how many people a campaign reached whether or not they ever get in touch. They hold the campaign name and nothing else: no name, no address, nothing about your child. We also keep a random number on your browser for 400 days that lets us count a visit without knowing who you are. None of it is shared with anyone, none of it can be read by another website or by any script on this one, and you can clear the cookies from your browser at any time.